Spring Festival is more than just a traditional Chinese holiday, it's also, annually, the world's largest ‘migration’ of people. The 2024 holiday period officially began on February 10 and ended on February 17. Although some people have the ability to travel off peak, most have already begun their return journeys.

According to Hainan Airport Group, in order to cope with the holiday travel volume, as of 2 p.m. on February 17 the island’s three major airports (Haikou Meilan, Sanya Phoenix, and Qionghai Boao) have scheduled an additional 194 routes for the week of February 18 to the 24th. In total, 32,965 additional seats will be available.

Haikou Meilan International Airport (Photo courtesy of Haikou Meilan International Airport)

During the holiday period, Haikou Meilan International Airport’s daily passenger flow averaged over 110,000 people. In addition to increasing the number of flights, airport management coordinated with Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines to increase the number of wide-body passenger aircraft on routes to popular cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Hangzhou. At the same time, additional staff have been scheduled to work check-in counters, security channels, and help desks to provide passengers with more convenient services.

Passengers lining up at security (Photo: Hinews)

The airports would like to remind everyone that passengers without checked baggage can check in online in advance and go straight to security and their boarding gate without standing in line to pick up a boarding pass. Given the current situation with crowding, passengers with checked luggage are encouraged to arrive at the airport at least three hours ahead of their trip. If you accidentally go to the wrong terminal, there is a free terminal shuttle bus outside Gates 2-3 of the T1 Arrival Hall and Gate 3 of the T2 Arrival Hall. If you have any questions, you can call Meilan Airport’s 24-hour service number 0898-966114 for consultation.

From February 18 to the 24th, Qionghai Boao Airport has scheduled an additional 62 routes with 10,246 seats more than usually flown in a given week. Boao Airport management reminds everyone that during the peak return period, passengers should try to arrive at the airport no less than three hours ahead of their flight. If you encounter difficulty during your transit of the airport, there are uniformed volunteers and staff available to help throughout the airport; or you can call the airport service hotline at 0898-36860114.